Tram Chim park needs better fire management to conserve eco-system

The Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap (Photo: VNA)

HCM
City (VNA) - Proper management of water and fires at the Tram Chim National
Park in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap holds the key to preserving the
Ramsar site’s eco-system, experts have said.

The impounding of floodwater
nearly year round to prevent fires in the cajeput forests there has upset the
eco-system, resulting in a decline in the number of sarus cranes there in
recent years, they said.

Speaking at a recent seminar
held in Dong Thap on preserving Tram Chim’s bio-diversity, Dr Duong Van Ni of
the Can Tho University said priority should be given to preserving grasslands
before cajeput forests.

This practice of floodwater
impounding round the year might help prevent forest fires but degrades
grassland communities, he said.

When there is waterlogging
almost all year, foreign invasive species like golden snail, suckermouth
catfish and water hyacinth develop rapidly while co nang (Eleocharis)
grasslands shrink and the number of precious sarus cranes plunges, he pointed
out.

For the park’s eco-system,
the appropriate climate is a cycle of dry season followed by a flooding season.

Eleocharis grasslands are the
favourite habitat of sarus cranes.

Nguyen Duc Tu, co-ordinator
of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Water and Wetlands
Programme, said the number of sarus cranes in the park has fallen sharply from
more than 1,000 in 1980 to 11 this year.

Nguyen Huu Thien, an
independent expert on the Mekong Delta’s ecology, said Tram Chim officials are
trying to protect cajeput forests from fires because they would be punished if
forests burn.

But this has caused the park
to “suffocate”, he said.

“When a fire occurs, people
think everything will die, but this is totally wrong. The world has realised
that fires are also a part of the eco-system since it makes the forest
vegetation thinner and boosts regeneration.”

Concurring, Nguyen Van Hung,
deputy director of the province’s Department of Science and Technology and
former director of the park, said: “Prescribed fires are fine. It is necessary
to have controlled burning of forests.”

During the burning, fauna can
move to nearby forest areas, he said.

After a few days of burning,
new grass grows and birds, rodents, snakes, and turtles return in large
numbers, he said.

The province People’s
Committee should create a mechanism for controlled burning of grass and other
vegetation and water management to sustain the park’s eco-system, he said.

Nguyen Van Duong, chairman of
the People’s Committee, instructed park officials and other relevant
authorities to draft a detailed plan to manage water and fire to sustain the
park eco-system.

Nguyen Hoang Minh Hai, head
of the park’s science and international co-operation division, said Tram Chim
has recovered about 190ha of co nang kim (Eleocharis ochrostachys) and co nang
ong (Eleocharis dulcis) plants in recent years.

Officials have released more
than 10 rare fish species such as giant barb and black sharkminnow into the
park to reproduce, he said.

Tram Chim spreads over an
area of 7,313ha in the Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) region in Tam Nong
district.

It is also well-known as a
habitat for other rare birds like the white-winged duck, spotted-billed pelican
and lesser adjutant as well as many fish species listed in Vietnam’s Red Book
like the clown knifefish, Hampala barb, small scade river carp, giant barb, and
black sharkminnow.-VNA